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Operational Excellence

Design For Six Sigma (DFSS)

Introduction

Design for Six Sigma (DFSS) may be viewed as a cohesive framework of tools and techniques for product development that addresses a niche that is not fulfilled by Six Sigma nor typical product development models. For instance, Six Sigma focuses on the improvement of an existing process(es), while DFSS focuses on the creation of new value and allows one to achieve the desired “built-in” quality level even with variations in the manufacturing or service operations. DFSS also plugs in the shortfall of many product development models in terms of measurement and prediction with its array of tools and techniques.

'A design that
is embraced by
the market, with
engineered quality
is a possibility
with DFSS'

Unlike Six Sigma, DFSS has various methodologies with different names, acronyms and phases. Some of the common ones include: DMADV (Define, Measure, Analyze, Design and Verify), IDOV (Identify, Design, Optimise and Validate) and DMEDI (Define, Measure, Explore, Develop and Implement). However, a closer look reveals the same agenda and design tools.

The heart of DFSS is a clear understanding of the market, with intimate knowledge of the customer quality requirements as the linchpin. This is why a design that has gone through DFSS would be well-received in the market. These inputs are then translated to critical technical characteristics through the use of specific tools and subjected to various analyses to ensure that the design will be cost-effective and reliable. Next, in order to ensure that the design is robust and reliable in the face of variations in the subsequent operations or manufacturing, predictions are made, failures are anticipated, mistake proofing is done, process capability is enhanced, and tests, reviews and validations performed to ensure that the design meets the desired sigma level.

Hence, with DFSS, one ultimately gets a product or service that is assured of market-receptiveness and is both reliable and robust.

Benefits of Implementation

For DFSS, data to measure the benefits can only be collected 6 to 12 months after the launch of the new product. Generally, the following benefits can be expected:

  • gains of USD 20,000 to 100,000 from each completed improvement project
  • reduction of over design wastes such as features that customers do not need
  • avoidance of poor designs that result in product defects
  • prevention of potential quality problems as these are detected before the product gets to the manufacturing floor
  • reduction in the number of design iterations, repeated tests and schedule slippages
  • reduction in unit product cost
  • reduction in market complaint rate and warranty costs